Bagshot Park and HRH Prince Edward: A Little Perspective from Someone Who’s Actually Stayed There There’s been a great deal of breathless reporting this week about Prince Edward , Bagshot Park , and the supposed “ 120-room mansion ” leased for a peppercorn rent . A scandal! A palace! A princely indulgence! Or so the headlines shout. Let me offer a little perspective from someone who actually stayed there — often — in the 1980s, when Bagshot Park was the home of the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department. Because the truth, as ever, is much less dramatic and far more grounded. When I knew the house, it was not a palace but a modest country residence — handsome, yes, atmospheric certainly, but smaller than several officers’ messes I’ve lived in over the years. The newspapers may tally every broom cupboard as a “room,” but in reality there are only about eight proper state bedrooms . The rest? Those “120 rooms” so loudly trumpeted are, in everyday terms, servants’ quarters :...
Kevin writes from the perspective of being an Englishmen in rural Australia. His interests and activities include - but are not limited to - health - Integrative Medicine including LLLT/PBM, inclusive theology, liturgical music and choral direction, writing (fiction, poetry and opinion pieces) and the local rural community.